WHILE loop to begin only when ELSEIF condition is true - if-statement

Question

I'm new to lua, and am trying to write some code to send information to a text file that is overwritten each loop cycle.The info sent to the text file is different based on a value that increases to a specific known number (3 for this example) and then decreases below that number in any order.
Here's where I am stuck:
I want to send different info to the text file using the same values
but based on whether the value has reached 3 or not, if that makes
sense.
Example in English:
if value is 2 and has not reached 3 then write: UP 2
if value is 2 and has reached 3 then write: DOWN 2
if value is 3 then write: TOP
My Question:
Can I get an infinite while loop to start inside another infinite while loop when a value meets a specific elseif condition. I want to try and use the loop structure below if possible.
My Code looks somewhat like this:
while true do
file = assert(io.open("file.txt","w+"))
value = ipc.readSD(0x0BE8)
if value = 0
file:write("UP 0")
file:close()
elseif value = 1
file:write("UP 1")
file:close()
elseif value = 2
file:write("UP 2")
file:close()
elseif value = 3
file:write("TOP")
file:close()
--How do I trigger/start this inner loop?
while true do
--now stay in here until break
file = assert(io.open("file.txt","w+"))
value = ipc.readSD(0x0BE8)
if
value = 0
file:write("DOWN 0")
file:close()
break
elseif
value = 1
file:write("DOWN 1")
file:close()
elseif
value = 2
file:write("DOWN 2")
file:close()
else
break
else
file:write("OUTSIDE")
end
end

Answer 1

There are several syntax errors in your code, it shouldn't compile at all.
Use == to compare equal instead of =
For every if / elseif, there should always be a corresponding
then.
For every if / while / do block, there should always be a
corresponding end.
As for your question, if I understand it correctly, you can use goto to simulate continue when you don't want to enter the inner loop:
while true do
value = getValue()
if value == 1 then
--not enter inner loop
goto continue
elseif value == 2 then
--enter inner loop
end
while true do
--inner loop
end
::continue::
end